AUTOhebdo predictions in Portimão: results of free practice

La F1 made a successful return to Portugal with an eventful Friday at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimão. On this day of discovery, the track and its new surface were particularly green, especially in the morning. At the house of McLaren, Carlos Sainz had the impression of evolving in a remake of the film “Tokyo Drift” as the circuit was so slippery. Many drivers were surprised by visiting the sides of the Lusitano route, whose spectacular nature, a delicious mix of height differences, blind turns and large fast curves, is already to everyone's delight.

Generally considered the most representative preparation session of the weekend, Free Practice 2 will not have allowed the teams to collect the data they usually collect to adjust their settings. First of all, because the first 30 minutes of driving were devoted entirely to testing around ten prototype tires brought to the Algarve by Pirelli for the 2021 season. The teams therefore only had a little more than an hour to carry out their traditional program, consisting of qualifying simulations followed by long relays. That 60-minute slot was cut even further due to a pair of red flags. The first was caused by the start of a fire on theAlpha Tauri de Pierre Gasly. Unfortunately for the Frenchman, 7th in FP2, any change of engine elements on his Honda powertrain should result in a drop on the starting grid because he has already reached all of the annual quotas. The second interruption occurred in circumstances that were, to say the least, incredible, namely the heated clash between Max Verstappen et Lance stroll at the first turn. The two men finally escaped the sanction while they risked a step back on the grid which would have penalized them on Sunday. 

• Benefit Bottas

No DAS, no problem for Bottas, who would be world champion in Friday testing if such a competition existed. Clean and immediately into the rhythm, the Finn dominated the two free sessions of the day, while his teammate Mercedes Lewis Hamilton knew " a difficult day » by his own admission. The Briton was not unhappy with his performance in FP1 but the set-up changes made for FP2 proved " really bad ". " We're going to have to retrace our steps », whispered the six-time world champion on Friday evening. Bottas can therefore represent an attractive option for pole position on Saturday, even if it is not the first time this season that the leader of the Drivers' classification has endured a complicated Friday. Hamilton has often managed to bounce back between now and the qualifying session, as evidenced by his 8 poles in 11 meetings this year. All this to say that he remains a serious client for the top of the timesheet tomorrow afternoon. Besides Hamilton, Bottas identified Verstappen as the main threat this weekend. The Dutchman was certainly more than half a second behind the Finn in EL2 but he was running on medium tires where the leading Mercedes was on softs. However, Pirelli estimates the performance gap between the two compounds at six tenths. 

• Leclerc and Ferrari in ambush

Even if it is difficult to draw conclusions after such choppy sessions, it will have escaped no one's notice that the Ferraris are looking good and are continuing the positive dynamic started after the disastrous Spa-Monza-Mugello triptych. At the wheel of an SF1000 equipped with additional upgrades, Charles Leclerc takes the 4th and 3rd times of the day. The Monegasque was also running on medium tires when he set his best time in EL2. A sign that the Scuderia is doing better, Sebastian Vettel, lost and dropped for weeks, was in 6th place in the afternoon. The two men will not fight for pole of course but a return to the podium for Leclerc and to the Top 6 for Vettel on Sunday cannot be ruled out. The McLarens also seem to be in the game but Carlos Sainz, 6th and 5th on Friday, warned against any hasty interpretation of the results on the evening of a day rich in twists and turns, less in lessons. 

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